Oil Companies Compete for Iraq Oil

More than 70 international companies have registered to compete for tenders to help develop Iraq's oil reserves, Iraq's Oil Ministry has announced.

Oil majors including Shell, Total and BP are among firms who have registered or planning on doing so.

"We are going to carefully study and check the documentation. Next month we will declare the companies which are permitted to work in the Iraqi oilfields," Oil Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad told Reuters.

Iraq currently produces a small amount of oil (about 2.3 million barrels a day) from its vast reserves which oil companies have been waiting to explore for years.

By staff writer